The Caerleon

Macen meets his first dragon, and finds passage to Sur Terra.

Chapter II: The Caerleon

   The next morning, Selena reminded me that she was still angry with a bucket of cold water. My bath taken care of, I got dressed and headed down for breakfast. I got a simple plate of scrambled eggs and bacon, with a glass of orange juice to wash it down. I asked Selena if she heard of any ships in port heading to Sur Terra.

“As a matter of fact, a sailor came in earlier this morning. Talked about how he was shipping off to Sur Terra around noon with a cargo of wine for some galla in Réla.”

I looked at the clock. It was 10:30. I decided I had time to buy some supplies before I sought out the ship’s captain. As I was getting up to leave, a man came running into the tavern. He was frantic and scared out of his wits.

“MONSTER!” The man yelled.

I went over to him, smacked him in the face to give him focus. I know, not the most conventional way to get someone’s attention, but it worked. His eyes focused to me and his breathing slowed.

“Now, tell me what you’re going on about,” I asked the man.

“A monster, out by the docks! A great beast with wings!”

I looked at Selena, “Get this man something hard to calm his nerves. Put it on my tab. I’m going to go see this beast.”

“Aren’t you forgetting something, Macen?” Selena asked.

I took long, quick strides over to her, grabbed her around the waist, and kissed her hard, “te amo,” I told her when I was done kissing her, then left the tavern.

What I saw when I got to the docks I was not prepared to see. It was certainly a massive creature. At least forty feet in length from nose to tail, about thirteen feet tall from shoulder, and maybe a wingspan of sixty feet. Right now it was laying on the main street… staring at me.

“Are you Macen Karmyne?” It asked in a very deep growl.

“I am,” I gulped hard, my knees shaking a bit, “and you are?”

“I am called Saldaniar in human speak, liten veiviser (little wizard),” it answered.

“What are you, Saldaniar?”

It sat up on its haunches, spread its impressive wings, and exhaled a plume of flame into the sky before responding, “Humans of old called my kindred ‘dragon’.”

I had heard of these creatures before. In old tales told by my grandfather. Before today that’s all I thought they were. Tales. To see one before me today was awe inspiring. Frightening, yet incredible.

“What brings you to Ebonvale, Saldaniar?” I asked

“I seek you, liten veiviser,” he replied.

“There’s that name again you called me. What does it mean?”

“Little wizard.”

“Why do you call me wizard? I haven’t got any magical powers.”

“My kind can sense those with makt, hrrmm, power. You, liten veiviser, have this within you.”

I shook my head incredulously. It must be mistaken. I didn’t have magical power like Grey. I was plain old Macen. I decided to let it go for now.

“Why do you seek me?”

“I was tvunget, compelled, by the man named Grey. Compelling my kind is not easily done, but this Grey is a formidable trollmann, hrrmm, sorcerer. He bade me find you and warn you of pursuing him further. He said should you continue your pursuit of him, then he will leave in his wake far worse horrors than that which had happened in the small village on Sur Terra.”

That must be the same village Selena had said the sailors spoke of. I couldn’t just stop my pursuit of Grey. He killed my parents. He needed to answer for his crimes. The dragon looked at me with one of his huge emerald green eyes. I guess he was awaiting my reply to his message.

“Tell Grey that I am coming for him. Tell him that when I find him, he will answer for every horror he leaves for me to find. He will answer for every life he takes.”

“So be it, liten veiviser,” Saldaniar replied, spread his wings, and took to the air.

The dragon out of the way, it was time to find the ship captain. I searched the docks and found a ship called The Caerleon. It was captained by a man named Lorcan Mac Ateer. He was a tall man, about six foot. He had shoulder length red hair that he ponytailed. A lean body topped with broad shoulders.

He descended the gang plank like a man who was very confident, “Look lively, ye powder wettin’ heathens! This cargo ain’t gon’ ship it’self!”

“Heading to Sur Terra?” I asked him when he was done ordering around his crew.

“Aye, whatssit to ye, lad?”

“I seek passage there, my business is my own.”

“Aye, aye, that it is, lad. Might’en I have room on board, but not fer free!”

“I have some silver,” I wasn’t going to let this pirate know I had gold, “and I can pull my own weight.”

“Be a 50 silver, lad, and you can start pullin’ yer weight over to them casks o’wine.”

I thanked him, handed over the 50 silver, and started helping with the loading of the cargo. We’d be at sea for two days. It wasn’t my first time on water, so I was confident I wouldn’t get sick.

By 12:00 promptly we set sail and were off to Sur Terra. Lorcan was a firm, but fair captain. There was always something to do onboard a ship, and Lorcan made sure I earned my keep.

By nightfall, it was time to eat. We ate salted meat on bread with cheese, and of course washed it down with grog; which is watered down rum. I mingled with the crew. The First Mate’s name was Eamon Mac Donnell; he was a shorter man, maybe five feet six. He had shaggy brown hair, and was stocky built.

Mikael Nordlund was the Boatswain. Five feet and eleven inches, broad shouldered, short blonde hair, and piercing blue eyes. He came from a land in the East that he said was once called Norway. He liked calling me “landben” in what sounded like the same language the dragon spoke; it meant “land legs”. I guess because while I had been at sea before, my legs still got wobbly on a rocking deck.

The cook’s name was Rebekka Tausch. She was a tiny woman of only five feet, athletically built, long blonde hair she kept in a braided tail, and brown eyes. She was a very open woman when the rum flowed, and twice I had to turn down her advances, which only made her end up bunking with the scullery boy, Owen Rees.

After dinner and a lot of drinking and singing, I grabbed a cot in the guest cabins, and fell instantly asleep. I guess a belly full of rum and the rocking from the steady waves will do that.

Author's Note

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